


Capture the Moment

by fefetasprite



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-14
Updated: 2013-04-14
Packaged: 2017-12-08 11:40:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/760918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fefetasprite/pseuds/fefetasprite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eridan is a student at a university in New York where he studies photography. He's best with scenery and objects because for the most part, he hates people. Anytime he tries to work with them the outcome is terrible. When he's given the opportunity to study abroad in Brazil and photograph the Amazon Rainforest, he's enthralled. What he doesn't expect is to meet a pretty tribal girl with a fascination for his camera.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Capture the Moment

**Author's Note:**

> written for kayla!! <3 ive owed her erifef for too long heheh (tho to be fair she owes me a squiddle)
> 
> assume dialogue is in portuguese where it makes sense to be! (ie in eridan's class and when he talks to fef)

Of course he’s excited on the plane ride, but he won’t show it. He just pops in his earbuds before the people on either side of him can try to make conversation, indulging in his folksy hipster music and staring at the ridiculously expensive camera in his lap. Eridan runs his thumb over the lens and before the plane has even started to crawl along the runway he’s jostling his leg again, like he was in the car ride when Cronus dropped him off at the airport. He’d skittered off to his terminal before his stupid brother could try to launch a hug on him, and now he sort of wishes that he’d allowed the hug. He checks his phone. One text from his dad, six from Cronus, one from his roommate.

The one from his dad simply says, “Good luck on your trip and stay out of trouble.” Eridan moves onto the next without emotion. The one from Sollux says, “haha ed i cant believe youll be gone for 4 months this is so great.” He scowls and taps out a quick “well fuck you too” in return. The ones from Cronus are: “hey eri watch out for piranhas”, “i hear they leap like 20 ft out of the water if they smell meat”, “not that you have much meat on your body”, “except for your butt thats kinda plushy”, “i say this in a brotherly way”, “ps your roommate is cute is he alone the whole time youre gone”. He scowls and refuses to dignify any of those with a response.

He’s on a plane to Rio de Janeiro from New York City, where he’d been shuffling through a particularly shitty winter. Now he was off to the tropics, with all the hot, with all the sticky, but with the most beautiful scenery. And because of this study abroad program, he was finally going to be able to see it and photograph it firsthand. For four straight months! He could think of nothing less like paradise; not only was there the value in photography, but he was going to get away from the suffocating city and all the bitchy fuckers that lived there and went to school with him. No more Cronus barging in for surprise visits, no more Sollux up all hours of the night on some program he had to finish, no more Karkat talking off his ear with his long extended metaphor insults, and no more Rose doing that… thing where she subtly insults and you don’t realize until ten minutes later. He realized he would probably have new assholes to deal with, but at least now he could pretend he didn’t understand Portuguese well enough or something. He didn’t want to dwell on that now, not when he hadn’t even arrived. So he leaned back in his seat, turned up his music to block out everyone else, and closed his eyes for the rest of the 12 hour flight.

—-

After landing, and then the train ride to the center of the country where the rainforest actually was, Eridan hurried to get all of his belongings together and hail a cab to take him to the apartment at the edge of the city he’d be staying in. Noting all the heavy winter gear in Eridan’s arms, not to mention his pasty skin, thick-framed glasses and the color in his hair, he observed, “You come a long way, don’t you?”, asking in English with a thick accent.

“I speak Portuguese…” Eridan muttered in the language, realizing he’d be treated like a baby tourist for his ridiculously posh New England looks. “I’m from New York,” he told him. “I’m studying abroad.”

The man actually laughed. “Your type is noticeable here.”

“Maybe that isn’t bad,” Eridan justified in return. The man nodded in concession and continued the drive quietly, as Eridan was a bit restless from the long flight and he didn’t want to offend him. At his apartment, he offered to help carry the bags in for a small extra fee, which Eridan agreed to, since he was a photographer, not an athlete, and had about ten bags to worry about. He paid his proper fee when they finished, and he was left alone in his apartment. He didn’t turn on any lights. He sat cross-legged on the floor and just smiled for a few blissful minutes.

—-

The very next day he was scheduled to tag along on some tacky rainforest tour, so he dressed for the heat and humidity, slung his camera around his neck, stuck his phone and some money to pay for the thing in his pocket, and started the walk through the city to get to where some jeeps were supposed to pick up the tour group. He left plenty of time so that he could walk through the city and take photos along the way if anything struck his fancy. Some tropical birds sitting in the windowsill of an abandoned apartment- snap. Blocked up traffic with mopeds and cyclists wedged in between every car and truck- snap. A line of fruit stands- snap. He mostly avoided people, preferring pictures of scenery.

By the time he reached the tour, it was about time to leave, so he joined a jeep with an empty seat, alongside the expectedly tacky tourists with their cheap, grainy digital cameras and mountains of pamphlets and species identification guides. Eridan could tell it would be a long day already.

—-

The jeeps took them only so far into the rainforest before it was time to start the walking portion of the tour. Eridan liked that part a little more, because it was easier to take pictures while stationary rather than in a moving vehicle with practically fucking ghetto hydraulics, the way that they bounced on their tires. The problem was, though, that he kept falling behind, and the group certainly wouldn’t wait while he meticulously adjusted the zoom and focus and positioned himself at the perfect angle.

So he left.

That was the extent of Eridan Ampora’s patience. He couldn’t stand those people anyway and hated the idea of being associated with him. As soon as the guide wasn’t looking, he hurried off into the brush and began his own tour.

After a few hours of excellent shooting, he began to realize that it was a bad idea, actually. It wasn’t getting dark yet- it was only about two in the afternoon- but he was a little hungry, and all he had with him was a single granola bar. Caving to the allure of dark chocolate and almonds, he unwrapped the bar and shoved the trash deep in his pocket and nibbled at the bar, still idly taking pictures. Spotting a particularly interesting plant, he kneeled in the dirt to get a lower angle on it. Good, good…

“Hello!” He was greeted from behind him in Portuguese, in an accent unlike any that he’d heard in the area.

Eridan yelped in the least manly way, nearly dropping his precious camera in the mud. He clutched it to his chest and whipped around, meaning to give a sharp glare to whoever had scared him, only to drop any animosity for wonder. Before him was a young woman, clearly of tribal origins. She had mountains of thick, dark hair, a natural bronze to her skin and white circles drawn in paint around her eyes, looking almost like goggles. She wore a white fringe skirt and a fuchsia bandeau top, along with a number of beaded necklaces and bracelets. And she was probably the prettiest girl he’d ever seen.

He attempted several times to regain composure, finally after a total of about five minutes of silence, he tentatively answered, “Hello.”

“Are you lost?” she asked, trotting closer to him.

Eridan started and pushed his glasses up his nose. “N-no, I left on my own,” he answered.

“Your hair has purple,” she observed. “How?”

“Uhh…” He had no idea what the word for dye was. “I put color in it,” he tried.

“You wear a thing on your face,” she made another observation.

“Yeah, those are glasses. I need them to see.” In case she tried to take them, he held onto the sides as a precautionary measure.

She laughed, high-pitched and loud. “I’m Feferi!” she greeted, tentatively holding out a hand as she’d been taught was the customary way to greet an urban person.

“Eridan.” He took her hand in his- it was surprisingly soft for somebody that lived in the rainforest- and shook it. “Did you follow me?”

He was answered with another round of giggles and coloration in her face. Feferi looked down at her feet and wiggled her toes in the dirt.

“OK.”

After a moment of silence between them, she answered. “Only a few minutes. Then I came to say hello.”

Eridan nodded, and found he didn’t have words to say. He just wanted to watch her face, the cute expressions, her body, the cute coyness in her posture. “Feferi, can I take your photo?” he asked finally.

“How?” she wanted to know. As far as she knew, cameras were operated by magic.

“I just- um-“ He had no idea how a camera worked. So he held up the device close to his face in preparation for taking a picture. “Smile.” Feferi obeyed, sporting a beaming, toothy, glowing smile that was so genuine and perfect it practically caused him physical pain to look at it.

He found a nice angle, focused on her face and pressed the button that would take the picture. As her face displayed on the screen, he showed her the picture.

She stared at her own face until it disappeared and the screen returned to a digital display of the forest floor. “I want to. Please.”

Eridan bit his lip. “Ah- um-“ His brow furrowed. He wanted to let her try but he was so protective of the camera and despised letting other people do so much as touch it. But her pretty brown eyes absolutely boring into his soul elicited a sigh, and he wrapped the strap around her neck. “Turn- there- to focus, and press the button when you want the picture.”

She spent a long time gently toying with it, following Eridan’s motions, and snapped the picture, gleefully showing him the completely blurry picture of his face. It was so badly unfocused that it could probably pass as artistic if he presented it to a bunch of art snobs. “Good.” He congratulated. He made to gently take back the camera, but she jerked away quickly.

“No, more.” She carefully toyed with the functions again, shooshing Eridan anytime he tried to protest or move. So he stood perfectly still, hardly daring to move. Brow furrowed, Feferi took another picture, this time with Eridan actually focused on. Except that it was only the upper right quarter of his face and mostly background of the forest. Again, it could probably pass for artistic if he left it with a bunch of modern art snobs.

“Feferi, please, now…” he held out a hand to ask for it back, a pained expression on his face. He’d only meant to let her have one picture…

And she took a photo of him begging.

“Feferi, I mean it.” He tried to be stern.

She took a picture of that too.

He couldn’t lunge at her, for fear that something would happen to the device. He had to get it back somehow. “How about I take more pictures of you?” he tried.

She considered it for a moment, then finally conceded and carefully handed him back the camera. Magic things needed to be treated gently, after all.

So Eridan kept his promise, taking close-ups of her face and various features, some full bodies, he had her pose for a few things. She so naturally did what he needed and flowed into every pose he asked for. For a minute, he believed that she must do this for every photographer that comes around and she can single out. But the way she was so mesmerized by him and the odd device he carried around, it had to be the first time. He’d grant her the benefit of the doubt.

It was only when he checked his phone and realized that the time was 5:45 the he’d realized how much time he’d spent with the pretty native girl. “Jesus fucking shitballs,” he cursed in English. Feferi quirked a brow. “I have to go. To my apartment.” He told her. Embarrassed, he added. “Can you show me out?”

She looked hurt. “Will I see you again?”

“I’ll be back every day as long as I’m in this country,” Eridan promised. Fuck his classes. And he could edit his photos at night back at the apartment.

Feferi seemed pleased with this answer. “I’ll find you. Do not look for me, you won’t find me,” she told him cryptically, and skipped off to lead the way to where the forest met a dirt road that would lead back to the city.

—-

After a really long walk, then hitchhiking with some questionable men, Eridan was incredibly glad to have somewhere to rest. He put his camera on the kitchen counter, stripped off his clothes and nearly fell asleep in the shower.

On coming out, he toweled off and groaned when he remembered that Cronus wanted to skype. He threw on a clean shirt and opened up his laptop, attached it to the plug-in internet, and as expected the bubble for Cronus being online popped up immediately, and he wasted no time starting the video call.

If he was tired before, the sight he saw certainly shocked him out of that. Cronus was with Sollux in his dorm, they were both shirtless, and they were both grinning like fools. He actually even jumped out of surprise.

And they just laughed! Laughed and highfived and laughed some more!

“Oh God, CN, that was classic!” Sollux managed between his guffaws. Cronus had one hand on Sollux’s shoulder and the other over his heart as if he’s trying to hold back cardiac arrest. No, please, let it overtake you…

“Ahaha, he actually believed it!”

At that, Eridan closed skype and shut the laptop off so the two new best friends could have all the laughs they want together at him. All he wanted was to get to bed right now. He didn’t even make it to the actual bed, though, just laid down on the sofa next to his laptop, closed his eyes, and instantly was overtaken by sleep.

—-

Eridan kept his promise. Every day at the edge of the forest, he was greeted by a “Come!” that appeared to originate from the trees. He could never see Feferi until they were far enough in the thick vegetation that they couldn’t see the road any longer.

At first, it was purely photo-taking. He would take a few of the scenery, which was his specialty, but Feferi liked being the center of attention and would often join them. Occasionally, he’d allow her to attempt to use the camera, which she made a valiant effort at, producing more and more ‘artistic’ photos by the day.

Ten days into their arrangement, when Eridan was reviewing the pictures he’d taken, she sat herself in front of him and brought her face close. Eridan’s pale face exploded in red as she pursed her lips and closed her eyes, closing the gap. He let the camera hang from his neck between them as he worked her lips and his tongue swept across her lips to taste the sweet fruit she’d just eaten. At her gasp, he moved to the inside of her mouth and gently probed. When they separated, she touched their foreheads together and took hold of his hand. Neither of them moved or spoke for a long while.

Another ten days, and Eridan removed the barrier between them. He put the camera on a sufficiently dry rock so that he could pull Feferi into his lap, and then on top of him while their shared moments became more and more intimate. Ten days more and in the heat of the rainforest, she unbuttoned his shirt and untied her own bandeau, exposing her breasts to the pretty pale boy from faraway. Nudity was normal in her traditions; most of the older women in the tribes did not cover any part of their body. But it was intimate for Eridan, and that’s what mattered to her. Eridan hardly realized that a third of his time in Brazil was already gone.

—-

“I have to go to at least some of my classes. They want me to learn things in the room instead of out here, which is stupid.” Eridan told her one day as they were perched in a low branch of a colossal tree.

“Why?” Feferi asked simply.

“Why?” Eridan repeated. He didn’t know the answer himself. “Because we have this system. This system that everybody follows, but only a few people win in.” He ran his thumb over the camera. A sort of morose attitude overtook the both of them, and they stared uncomfortably at the forest floor.

“So you will not come tomorrow?” She clutched the leaf she’d been toying with to her heart, looking more delicate than ever.

“I… I have to. There are things you do for your parents, right? I want to show my dad that I’m doing something he thinks is worth it.” Eridan sighed, kicking his feet.

“But what… what is it worth?” she asked.

“Money, his time? I don’t know. I’ll be back the next day. And I’ll bring you some printed photos,” he promised, kissing her forehead. “Will you be OK for one day?”

Feferi nodded and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest.

—-

In developing the photos, Eridan came across a silly picture he’d taken of the two of them together. They were both smiling so hard the laughter could be heard from the picture, and even though there was a glare on his glasses and the most childish and typical selfie angle, it was perfect. He printed a copy for himself, and one for Feferi to keep.

—-

He returned the next day to their usual spot, and he laughed and told her about the fun he’d had in the photography workshop at the small university hosted in the city. He gave her the photo, which she held in her hands and stared at with a childlike wonder, before she folded it and stuck it in her bandeau. “So it will be close to my heart,” she told him.

—-

They fell into a schedule of every other day. Eridan would go to the classroom and edit his photos and work on his skills one day, and then come and visit and take more pictures on the alternate. He would share stories from his classes, and she would tell him what was happening with her tribe. It was better this way; more balanced. They had their lives and they had each other.

—-

Eridan was rudely awakened from his dreamy existence with Feferi one day after class. As he was pushing in his chair, the professor addressed him. “Happy to be going home in a week?” His jaw nearly dropped, and he hardly keep the emotion welling inside him from exploding out. No, no, no! He wasn’t happy at all! He didn’t want to go back to New York as long as the Amazon was here for him to capture!

“Ahah… no, I’d rather stay here, I think.” Eridan admitted, trying not to sound so miserable.

—-

That night, he was determined. He hadn’t skyped his father once in the nearly four months he’d been in Brazil, even though he was always there, just waiting for him to initiate the conversation. His mouse hovered over the ‘video call’ button for nearly twenty minutes before he finally started it.

“Eridan,” he greeted, the smallest of smiles on his features, but a much more prominent one in his eyes.

“Dad, I… I want to stay in Brazil.” He cut straight to the chase.

“Then stay in Brazil,” his father easily answered.

“Like… transfer to the university here?” Eridan clarified.

“If that’s what you want to do.”

“It’s… that easy?”

“I’ll make it that easy,” the man replied gruffly.

Eridan couldn’t help it. He blubbered like a baby about how happy he was. “I- I miss you, Dad but… I feel it here. I stick out, but I belong here.”

“I’m glad you finally found somewhere, son.”

—-

When Eridan returned to the rainforest the next day, Feferi was quick to notice his glow. “What is it?” she asked.

“I get to stay here… for as long as I want to, with you,” Eridan answered, actually choked up at the idea. The glow passed to her immediately, but instead of dimming as it was shared, it was twice as bright.

“I think I want to spend my life with you, Feferi. I love you.” They didn’t need a kiss to show intimacy, just the raw emotion in their eyes and smiles. To capture that love for the world to see it, he lifted his camera once more, and snapped one of her bright, dewy eyes and upturned, parted lips.

**Author's Note:**

> epilogue: eridan is put through an initiation process to become an honorary member of the tribe so that by tribal law he can marry feferi. they have their wedding in the middle of the amazon and try to incorporate elements from both cultures, which fails miserably. sollux, cronus, dualscar, and eridan’s few friends are hauled out for the reception. sollux is apparently allergic to nature. cronus and sollux drink to much and accidentally bang. the end.
> 
> im sorry im rly bad at endings mb ill go back one day and expand this ;o;


End file.
